Posted on 01/02/2014 9:36:57 AM PST by SoFloFreeper
O ver two dozen houses which were built by Hollywood star Brad Pitt's charity for the victims of 2005 Hurricane Katrina have started to rot from the inside out.
While the blame-game is on between the Pitt's charity 'Make It Right New Orleans' and the house building company, the owners of the houses, which are situated at the Ninth Ward in New Orleans, are worried about the deteriorating condition of their homes, reported Radar Online.
"The wood turned gray and it was also black," a homeowner, who has been living in the house for four years, said.
"Also some parts it was buckling and it had mushrooms growing out of it. Different neighbourhoods saw it too."
A representative for the charity has responded to the complaint and held the company responsible, which provided a plumber for the house that sits on a moist land.
(Excerpt) Read more at financialexpress.com ...
Treated lumber is not treated with fungicide, and will still mold and dry rot. It will resist insects, however.
“The wood turned gray and it was also black,” a homeowner,”
Black mold, built with framing that was previously wet. I bet the nails are rotting through also. If they don’t rot apart, they’ll fall apart.
You are so funny!
I recall an uproar a few years ago when substandard Chinese sheetrock was in use. Lots of this stuff was used in repairs in New Orleans. There was a shortage of good U.S. sheetrock so the Chinese crap was imported. That Chinese stuff released lots of toxins, and fell apart quickly.
Look at the Wikipedia entry here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Make_It_Right_Foundation_New_Orleans
Notice Mike's name at the bottom of the celebrity list.
Brad Pitt secretly want’s to be cast as Francisco d’Anconia in Atlas Shrugged Part III. These houses were built in an unofficial development called “San Sebastian Estates”.
FYI:
http://makeitright.ca/Holmes_Media/Holmes_New_Orleans/#/home/
The yellow home on this page is the NOLA home he built. I have no idea if he used the wood causing the mold problems.
Bio-degradable houses!
I’m guessing maybe that these were meant to be temporary shelters and permanent dwellings?
Unfortunately, wood shrinks and swells with changes in relative humidity. When it dries out, it tends to crack and split apart. Southern Yellow Pine, which is what is most likely on your deck, tends to do this more so than other species. However, it is the least expensive decking option in your market. That is why it is so prevalent.
This is why composite decking products have gained so much market share in the last 10 years. They have their issues too. In heavy humidity areas like Oregon or Washington they tend to have mold growth problems. There have also been dozens of new manufacturers of composite decking that have come and gone out of business in the last ten years. Many of them made inferior products. Then companies came out with 100% PVC decking. There are about six major manufactures of PVC trim boards. AZEK being the most widely distributed. The problem with PVC is it is very expensive and it also shrinks and swells in length. Therefore, it can buckle if boards are butted to tight. So, finally the decking companies came out with a product that has a composite core and a PVC exterior shell. This is the best product currently on the market and why I suggested it in my earlier reply. This type of decking has virtually no maintenance, is dimensionally stabile and will not rot or mold. Also, the producers have a system to attach their decking to the joists below without the screws showing on the face.
Mike Holmes helped build at least one of these houses & filmed a series doing it. I watched it.
“Make it Right” is Mike’s motto, I believe.
I can see that some men may envy Brad Pitt for his looks, for the effect he has on the ladies, for his income and fame but I don’t think anyone should envy him for his wisdom, he appears to be just another rich Hollywood liberal who is disconnected from everyday reality.
If these homes were built nearly ten years ago and they’re just complaining now, then the moisture damage is cumulative. It’s a damp area, much of it below sea level. Do these people believe a house just takes care of itself? Where were they when the issue with moisture first began to manifest? As putative homeowners, they do realize that it’s their responsibility to repair a leaky roof, leaky plumbing or a damp crawlspace, do they not?
Oh, who am I trying to kid. Of course they don’t expect to have to maintain their own houses. They’re victims in waiting, somebody else has to not just pay for it but do it for them.
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